


(UN)requited

by Sin_Demonise



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, M/M, Reverse Hanahaki Disease, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:40:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28220301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sin_Demonise/pseuds/Sin_Demonise
Summary: Unrequited love is a bother. It’s deadly. As things go, the object of your affection will carry and suffer the burden of your feelings; killing them dreadfully fast, if not treated.Akaashi Keiji didn’t want that kind of accountability on him.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji & Miya Osamu, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Miya Osamu, Miya Osamu & Suna Rintarou, Miya Osamu/Suna Rintarou
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	(UN)requited

**Author's Note:**

> A reverse Hanahaki Au wherein if someone has unrequited feelings for you, you're the one coughing out flowers.

Unrequited love is a bother. It’s deadly. As things go, the object of your affection will carry and suffer the burden of your feelings; killing them dreadfully fast, if not treated.

Akaashi Keiji didn’t want that kind of accountability on him. 

Though, he think nothing of the said disease. He's blessed to be in a requited relationship with his star, Bokuto Koutarou, for eight amazing years and still counting. Their friends wouldn’t even argue about them being considered as the perfect couple their circle.

They complement each other like a puzzle's middle piece. What one lacked, was filled by the other. It was a wonderful balance between them, making their relationship flow smoothly.

So, imagine Akaashi’s surprise when he started coughing petals on the night of MSBY’s victory against the Adlers. His worst nightmare unexpectedly came true. 

He stormed into the restaurant’s restroom and occupied the nearest vacant cubicle; slamming the door shut and locking it while he spat the petals of a bright red flower over the toilet.

The loud racket of the customers outside was drowned out by multiple questions that began to invade Akaashi’s mind. His expression fell as the gravity of the situation dawned on him.

‘Why?.. Why now?..’

The petals were hurriedly flushed down the toilet while Akaashi fixed himself before going back to their table, acting as if nothing happened.

He has to find this secret admirer of his before it’s too late.

“What’s wrong Ji? You rushed to the restroom without telling me anything.” Bokuto asked when he returned from the restroom; worry written all over his lover’s face.

“I’m fine, Kou. Sorry to disturb our date.” Akaashi gave the bigger male a smile and sat back down on his seat across his lover to enjoy the beef tongues they ordered. He was savoring the dish when Bokuto spoke again; the statement almost making him choke on the tongue he was chewing.

“It’s fine Ji! I suffer from Diarrhea from time to time too!”

“Huh?” The raven male asked, hoping he only heard it wrong.

“Diarrhea!” Bokuto confirmed with an even louder voice, making Akaashi cover his mouth in haste.

“Koutarou, that’s not something you say in front of the food..” He whispered, glancing at the people looking their way, giving them an apologetic nod. They returned the gesture as an acknowledgement, resumed to their own merry way, and leaving the couple to their own. Seeing that the others had finally taken their eyes off of them, Akaashi turned to Bokuto once more and continued. 

“Besides.. I didn’t ha-“ 

He paused, slowly putting his hand down. His own blue orbs stared into Bokuto’s golden ones and the innocence of his partner’s expression tugged his heartstrings.

His heart ached even more when his star smiled him.

He couldn’t. There was no way he would want that smile to disappear.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞.

“You didn’t?” His owl-like partner inquired, cocking his head to the side with an expectant look on his face. Akaashi simply smiled and sat back down on his seat.

“I didn’t expect to have diarrhea today.” Akaashi replied, choosing to hide the truth. “But I’m fine now, sorry to worry you.”

Bokuto chuckled and pinched the younger’s cheek playfully. “It’s alright, Ji! Let’s continue eating, the food will get cold.” The raven agreed, and their dinner date was resumed; with the older’s hilariously innocent comments about the most random stuff in the world, and Akaashi attentively listening to every single one of them.

Their usual silly banter ensued, making Akaashi almost forget about the flower silently growing inside of him. A few glasses of beer was shared before the pair finally decided to leave the restaurant and start heading home.

Along the way, Bokuto suddenly stopped walking and squeezed his partner’s hand, catching the ravenette’s attention.

“Kou?” Akaashi asked, accustomed yet puzzled at the sudden halt.

There was no response. Instead, Bokuto stood in front of him and held both of his hands, raising them to his face and kissing their knuckles. Akaashi felt the rush of crimson which tinted his cheeks from shyness, in modest. Even so, he didn’t pull his hands away.

Bokuto raised his head and peered at his lover. His eyes roaming around the younger’s facial features and stopping at Keiji’s gunmetal blue eyes.

He adored Akaashi; that much was evident in the way his golden irises stared at him with so much fervor.

The burning passion of Bokuto’s endless affection was something Akaashi knew all too well. His former captain has never failed in showcasing his emotions for him. From silent and subtle gestures, to outrageous public displays of affection.

He was loved and treasured by this man, whose golden orbs stared into his own pools of blue.

“I love you, Keiji.” 

That fact, made Akaashi’s heart swell..

“I like you too, Koutarou.”

.. and his throat 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧. 

The following week was a blur. Due to the busy nature of his job as an editor, Akaashi couldn’t find the time to find the person who had unrequited feelings for him. With each day passing by, the flowers in his lungs continued to grow, and his coughs were becoming more frequent and violent.

One day, during an incredibly stressful week at work, Bokuto pays his exhausted lover a surprise visit and drags him out for lunch. The couple sat on an empty bench outside Akaashi’s workplace and shared a humble meal together. 

“Thank you for stopping by, Kou.” Akaashi said upon finishing his portion and wiped the crumbs left at the side of his mouth. His complexion looked a lot better now compared to his ghastly appearance earlier.

“You’re welcome Ji!” His lover replied, with his signature bright smile. “I got worried when you told me that you’ve been stuck in the office for two days now." His grin disappeared and was replaced with a worried expression.

“Because of that, I brought you something to eat so you don’t starve yourself!” The bigger male declared as he fumbled through the contents of the backpack he brought with him.

“What is it?”

“Here!” Bokuto exclaimed, holding out three pieces of onigiri to Akaashi.

The raven blinked a few times and smiled, taking the onigiri. “Thank you, Kou.”

“You’re welcome! I got those from Myaa-sam so I'm sure you’ll like it.”

As the familliar name was mentioned, petals clogged his throat like a shot, making it hard for him to utter words.

“Myaa-sam?” He asked in haste, and Bokuto nodded.

Akaashi stared at the onigiri in hand, recalling a certain interaction he’s had with Osamu.

\---

𝐴𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖 𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑈𝑑𝑎𝑖 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑚𝑎 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑦𝑚𝑛𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑖𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝐵𝑜𝑘𝑢𝑡𝑜, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑘𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑢𝑝𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘. 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝐾𝑒𝑖𝑗𝑖 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑚.

𝐻𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑠 𝑂𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑖 𝑀𝑖𝑦𝑎'𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑖 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑖𝑚.

"𝐻𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜, 𝑀𝑦𝑎𝑎-𝑠𝑎𝑚," 𝐴𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵𝑜𝑘𝑢𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑑. "𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑖 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑐."

𝑂𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑢 𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟'𝑠 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟, ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠. 𝐴𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑂𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑢 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑎𝑏𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔, "𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒."

𝐴𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑, 𝐴𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖 𝑝𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑂𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑢.

'𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐽𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑎𝑙'𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙.' 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒.

𝐻𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑂𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑢 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑂𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑖 𝑀𝑖𝑦𝑎 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑢𝑦 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑, 𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑖. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙. 

𝑆𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒.. 𝑅𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡?

"𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑀𝑦𝑎𝑎-𝑠𝑎𝑚." 𝑂𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑢 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑎 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘-ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝑖𝑦𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑠, 𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑓 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘. 𝐻𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝐵𝑜𝑘𝑢𝑡𝑜'𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑜𝑓𝑓.

"𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐻𝐸𝑌!!" 𝐵𝑜𝑘𝑢𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖 𝑚𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑚 ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ.

"𝑆𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑓 𝐼 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 '𝐽𝑖! 𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑚-𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑠."

"𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐾𝑜𝑢. 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑒 𝑔𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑤?" 𝐵𝑜𝑘𝑢𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑦, ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖'𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡. "𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑒! 𝐿𝑒𝑡'𝑠 𝑔𝑜!!"

𝐴𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖 𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟'𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑. 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑦𝑚𝑛𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑢𝑚, 𝐴𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑂𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑢'𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠.

“𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒚.”

𝑨𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒕.

–--

'Could it be?'

“Keiji?” Bokuto called out to him, snapping him out of his reverie. The frosted-tipped male had placed his head on Akaashi’s shoulder and had been staring at him this whole time.

“Yes?” Akaashi asked, placing a gentle kiss on Bokuto’s forehead.

“It’s our ninth anniversary next week.. Can you keep your schedule free on the 7th, Ji?” The older male asked, pouting and looking at Keiji with hopeful eyes.

“Of course. That’s why I’m busy now so I can be free later.” He responded, earning a bright smile from his lover.

“You’re the best Ji! I love you!” Bokuto exclaimed, hugging Akaashi tightly. The younger squeezed back, struggling to control the cough that was itching to come out.

He could taste the petals at the back of his teeth.

As well as 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝.

Thanks to Bokuto’s connections, specifically Atsumu, Akaashi was able to obtain Osamu’s contact information. He immediately asked the guy to meet up and confronted him about his condition.

The meeting didn’t last long. As Osamu made it blatantly obvious that he had no feelings for Akaashi. 

“You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“No, Akaashi-san. Besides..” Osamu held out his hand and showed an engagement ring. 

“I’m in love with Suna, not you.”

And just like that, another week passed and the day of their anniversary came like a blink of an eye. During this time, Akaashi had already grown weaker and has practically given up on finding this admirer. The flowers had already occupied a large portion of his lungs, and it’s not showing signs of stopping.

‘Looks like I’m gonna die not knowing who this person is.’ He thought, looking at the small pool of blood accompanied by petals on his sink.

Bokuto texted him the location of their dinner date; the park where Bokuto confessed to Akaashi nine years ago. Using all the strength he could muster inside of him, Akaashi fixed himself up and drove to the place.

The meeting time was 7:00 pm, and for the first time in his life, Akaashi was late. Thirty minutes late at that.

Upon arriving at the destination, a red carpet was laid as his path, leading him across the denser area of the park.

‘Did he fixed up a dinner date in this park on his own? Geez.. That owl..’ He thought with a smile and painstakingly followed the path set for him.

It led him to a large heart-shaped flower arch filled with Akaashi’s favorite flowers, and his lover, who was patiently waiting with a bouquet in hand.

He sucked in a breath, and began walking towards Bokuto; masking the pain he felt after each step with a smile.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Kou.”

“You’re worth waiting for anyways, Ji.” Bokuto assured and kissed the younger’s forehead, handing him the bouquet which consisted mainly of red carnations. He stared into Akaashi’s eyes and began to speak.

“Red carnations symbolize deep and everlasting passionate love. I’m giving you nine of these vibrant flowers to symbolize the nine love-filled years we’ve spent together.”  
As Bokuto recited those words born from his emotions, Akaashi’s throat began to hurt.

“I wanted to do this after dinner.. But I couldn’t wait anymore.” He smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. Akaashi remained quiet; unable to respond as the petals inside his throat continued to increase, barely giving him air to breathe.

The petals, previously feeling like cotton and silk, now felt like multiple nails scratching the walls of his esophagus. He tried swallowing them back, but the buds only grew in number.

And while he suffered in silence, Bokuto got on one knee and took out a velvet box from his pocket.

“Akaashi Keiji, I have loved you more than anything else in my life, and I know I would never feel the same with someone else. Everyday, my feelings for you continue to grow and when I think I can’t love you more.. You prove me wrong. I won’t beat around the bush anymore..”

Bokuto opened the box, revealing a gorgeous golden ring.

“Will you ma-"

“So it was you..” Akaashi managed to cough out, dropping the bouquet he held in hand.

“Huh? What do you mean me, Ji?”

With tears in his eyes, Akaashi opened his mouth, letting numerous petals fall out of his mouth. The petals of the same flower that he had been holding a while ago. 

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

The raven collapsed on the ground, violently coughing out the petals that have been clogging his throat the whole time, emphasizing the ruby accent of the petals with his own blood.

“Akaashi..?” Bokuto called out, shock and pain written across his face. The younger could only respond with relentless coughs, unable to see the silver-haired male’s devastated expression.

“Is it.. Really me?” His golden orbs were blurred by his tears as he asked that question. The answer was obvious, even a child would figure out that much. But he didn’t want to believe it. 

He just can’t.

‘Eight years.. Eight long years, for nothing?’

“Dammit!” Bokuto exclaimed and gripped his locks with both hands in frustration. “But why?.. Why am I the one with unrequited feelings for you?! We’re in a relationship! I thought.."

“I’m sorry.. Kou..” It was all Akaashi could say as he can feel his consciousness slowly fading, and it was all Bokuto needed to hear for his heart to completely sink into grief.

“𝐉𝐢.. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞?..”

–--

'𝑈𝑛𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟.'

"𝐴𝐺𝐴𝐴𝐴𝑆𝑆𝐻𝐸𝐸𝐸!!!"

‘𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑙𝑦.'

"𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝐵𝑜𝑘𝑢𝑡𝑜-𝑠𝑎𝑛?” 

"𝐴𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑔𝑜, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠..'

"𝐼.. 𝐼 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢.. 𝑁𝑜! 𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝐴𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖!!"

'𝐾𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡, 𝑖𝑓 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑.'

"𝐼 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜𝑜, 𝐵𝑜𝑘𝑢𝑡𝑜-𝑠𝑎𝑛."

'𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆.'

**Author's Note:**

> The reverse Hanahaki au prompt is from a user in Twitter. I forgot their handle, please do tell me if anyone knows. And as always, thank you for reading.


End file.
